Mettle
by Hadican
Summary: Sometimes Yuzu will get fuzzy memories about a very hot place and very strange voices saying threatening things. She's puzzled, but she doesn't question it...at least not until her sister keeps acting strange. One Shot


**Author's Note:** I really like a lot of side characters in Bleach and two particular favorites are the Kurosaki twins, Yuzu especially. Just wanted to write something about Hell Verse. Hopefully everyone is in character, eh heh.

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At first she thought it had all been a dream. Not that she could remember much, mind you, but she had figured that everything she did remember was nothing more than a dream.

Except Yuzu Kurosaki did not typically dream of fire and brimstone, or of a never ending sweltering heat and the voices of strangers saying terribly wicked things. To top it all off sometimes those voice sounded like they were talking about her older brother...

That was troubling to say the least. She didn't understand why anyone would want to harm Ichigo. Though she did know that he often got bullied at school due to his unusually bright hair. Which she thought was absolutely rubbish and people didn't need to be so hateful. However what they had talked about was not something typical school yard bullies discussed.

There were plans of "getting free" and talk about what they would do once they managed to make it to the "other side". Other side of what? Yuzu wasn't sure, but every time she thought about those words she got an uneasy feeling.

The dreams weren't the only thing that had started. Now Karin was practically glued to her side. Or at least she had been for the past couple of days. She loved her twin dearly but to see her this protective was troubling to say the least. She wondered what had brought on that particular protectiveness.

She remembered back when she had woken up in the morning, which was funny because she didn't remember going to bed, and Karin had acted so strangely. Her twin had tugged at her arm, checked to see if she had a fever, and even pressed her hand against the area just below her neck. She acted as if she was expecting to see something there. There had even been some tears! Yes, all of that had definitely been some strange behavior from her twin.

Plus even her big brother had come in at one point and given both herself and Karin a hug. To top it all off Karin didn't even complain! Though Karin was more receptive of hugs from their brother because they were pretty rare unlike their father's.

Something was certainly amiss with her family and she really wanted some answers.

She hummed a little tune as she busied herself with preparing dinner. These thoughts had been especially tenacious when she was preparing a meal for her family. Speaking of...Karin was currently sitting at the dinner table trying not to look like she was watching her like a hawk.

Even with her back turned she could feel her raven haired twin's eyes practically burning a hole into her back. It kind of made her uncomfortable. This wasn't the first time Karin had sat at the table while she fixed dinner, but this was the first time she had watched Yuzu so closely.

"Karin-chan," she said, and without missing a beat her sister jolted slightly in her chair. She could tell because the particular chair Karin favored tended to creak at even the slightest movement. She should probably see about getting that fixed. "Do you mind setting the table?"

"Sure," her sister said, and busied herself with that. She saw from the corner of her eye Karin still staring at her as if she was expecting her twin to disappear into thin air. She took a deep breath, plastered on a warm smile, and spoke as nonchalantly as she could.

"Is something wrong, Karin-chan?" _Click_. A plate touched the table with a little more force than necessary.

"No," Karin responded plainly. If it had been anybody else they probably would have actually believed that, but Yuzu was her twin. She knew better.

She turned to see Karin not looking at her suddenly. A gentle concern filled her eyes as she noted the sudden change. The girl turned to move the food off of the stove. It was a simple matter to heat up and dinner wasn't for a while anyway.

She dried her hands and now Karin had gone back to watching her every move. A confused look crossed her charcoal eyes as she regarded her lighter haired twin.

"Did...something happen?" Yuzu asked, because if something had she had no idea what it was. Well perhaps a faint idea...And now her sister looked like she was going to cry again. Karin never cried, or rather she didn't cry unless she was under a great deal of emotional stress. Ever since their mother's death Yuzu could count on one hand the amount of times her twin had cried. She put on a gentle smile, trying to ease her sister's fears. "It's okay, Karin, everything is okay."

Now that just seemed to make her worse. The girl bit her lip as she watched her sister practically crumble before her. This was all too much.

"Come here," she said and gently wrapped her arms around her twin. Slowly her twin's arms came up and hugged her back tightly. She rubbed her back consolingly and murmured things that she hoped helped. After a couple of minutes she tried to ask again. "Karin-chan, did something happen? You've been acting strangely for the last couple of days..."

"Yeah..." was all she offered at first. Yuzu could tell that she just needed some time to process what she was going to say. If there was one thing Karin hated it was looking weak in front of others, even if the others were her family. After a few more minutes her twin seemed to compose herself enough to speak. "I probably shouldn't be telling you this, but I guess maybe you don't remember...but some creepy bastards tried to capture us or I guess they did capture you and took you away."

A flash of a memory. She had been chopping vegetables for dinner when she felt someone grab her shoulder. Originally she had thought it was Karin, but the grip was far too tight. When she had turned she had seen the faint image of a man in a mask...She had screamed in surprise, Karin had asked what was wrong, the sound of hurried footsteps, and then...nothing.

"Yuzu? Yuzu!" she snapped out of her memory to see the worried face of her sister and Karin's hands on her shoulders, shaking her urgently but gently. Upon seeing the focus returning to Yuzu's eyes the dark haired twin relaxed. "Don't do that!"

"Ah, I'm sorry Karin-chan," she amended, smiling at her twin gently before a look of contemplation crossed her features. "You know...I do remember something like that."

"Y-You do?" Karin asked, flabbergasted. "I mean, you can't see spirits and stuff like that, right Yuzu?"

"Hm, I remember seeing just a faint outline really," she said and there were other things she remembered too, but she wasn't sure she wanted to worry her sister anymore than she already had.

Her sister wasn't having that.

"What else?"

"Karin-chan I don't think-"

"Please..." and that stopped her dead in her tracks. "I have to know, I have to know what they did to you..."

Startled she thought back trying to decide if they had actually done anything at all to her. Well besides the obvious kidnapping. More flashes of memories resurfaced. She remembered opening her eyes for a few moments before a bout of nausea forced her to close them again. Yuzu remembered being in a cage that appeared to have been suspended above the ground. Sweltering heat had robbed her of the ability to think properly, but there had been voices and blurry figures which appeared as more than just outlines at the time...They hadn't done anything to her other than keep her captive. There had even been one point that she faintly remembered someone tugging her around by the hood of her dress and a voice that sounded like it was taunting someone else. Then yelling and explosions. Her brother sounding so desperate as he was begging someone to save her...Everything had sounded so far away so...unreal, but if what her sister was alluding to was true then-

A hand grabbed hers and she snapped out of her reverie to find her hands shaking even as one was being clenched comfortingly by her sister.

"Yuzu...?" Karin questioned, worry etched all over her face. Yuzu offered her twin a smile that she knew didn't quite reach her eyes. A dark look crossed her sister's face. "I knew it..."

"No," Yuzu quickly said, and her sister blinked in confusion the anger in her eyes slowly dissipating. At least she didn't think they had done anything more to her. There had only been one person that had grabbed her out of that cage and that was the one who had been moving her around as if she were a rag doll. If she remembered correctly that person had also dropped her..."They didn't-"

"I'm home," their older brother called from the entrance to their home. Yuzu winced, how long had they been talking? She should probably get back to making dinner.

"Welcome home, onii-chan!" she called, the last thing she wanted to do was freak out anyone else by not responding.

Upon trying to turn she felt a tug on her hand. Karin had yet to release her hand and the lighter haired twin turned to look at her. They were in a staring contest for all of thirty seconds before Ichigo entered the kitchen to see what was going on.

He stopped dead in his tracks at the sight. He looked between the two before his eyes rested on Karin.

"Yuzu remembers," was all Karin offered, voice soft, and she did not take her eyes off of her twin. Yuzu glanced up at her brother and he looked like he had just been punched in the gut.

Yuzu was not oblivious, or at least not as oblivious as her siblings had figured. She knew that there was a hidden world around her. She had been attacked on more than one occasion and though she could not see them as clearly as her siblings she was by no means weak because of it.

Still, she couldn't find it in herself to be angry. They were just protecting her, afraid that she would get hurt. It would be a lie to say she wasn't just as fiercely protective of them. Though she expressed herself in a much different way than them when it came to that. Civility and a sharp tongue where her best weapons when the need arose. Though a good wallop from a grocery bag was a pretty effective weapon against unruly teenagers that wouldn't listen to reason. Of course most of the time she had Karin with her and not a soul dared get too close then.

Gently she removed her hand from Karin's, though the darker haired girl had resisted at first before relenting. She clasped her hands together and put on her best tough face.

"Karin-chan, onii-chan," she said, and the two straightened. "Despite what happened...I want you to know that I am alright but that if anything should come up, like nightmares, you'll be the first ones to know."

She turned from them before putting the pot back on the stove and turning it back on. Once that task was complete she turned to find them still standing there looking surprised.

Fidgeting slightly she looked between the two before smiling sheepishly. "Erm...is something wrong?"

"Wow," was all Karin said, shaking her head and smirking. "Guess I'll...uh get back to setting the table then."

Yuzu beamed at her sister. "Thank you Karin-chan!"

She turned to her brother who seemed to have broken away from his stupor as well. Walking over he gently ruffled her hair and looked proud before heading out of the kitchen.

She started to hum the little tune again as she continued where she had left off.

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End


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